The words "Lai" and "Mai" appeared in Oracle Bone Inscriptions, both of which were interpreted as wheat crops. The former is generally interpreted as wheat and the latter as barley.
The word "Lai" is a hieroglyph, which originally meant wheat, and was later escaped as coming and going. In addition, "Zuo Zhuan? In the eighteenth year of Chenggong, it is recorded that "Zhou Zi has a younger brother but no wisdom, and he can't distinguish between husked wheat, so he can't stand".
As can be seen from this story, as early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, wheat was widely planted in northern China, so that ordinary people at that time should be able to distinguish between soybeans and wheat.
Although wheat came from the west, the main wheat producing area was in the east, that is, the lower reaches of the Yellow River, before the Han Dynasty. Since the Warring States period, the main producing areas began to expand from the lower reaches of the Yellow River to the middle reaches, and further expanded to the west and south in the Han Dynasty. During the period of Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty, Dong Zhongshu suggested planting winter wheat widely in Guanzhong area.
During the Western Han Dynasty, two famous agronomists, Zhao Guo and Fan Sheng Zhi, both taught wheat in Guanzhong area. Wheat grains were also unearthed from Mawangdui Han Tomb in Changsha, Hunan Province.
After the vigorous promotion of the Han Dynasty, the planting area of wheat expanded, the output increased, and its position in the grain supply rose, becoming an important war preparation material, which was particularly prominent in the warlord melee in the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period.
Wheat became the guide of war. Don't send troops before the wheat harvest; In the early years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor Guangwu refused to lead troops to personally expedition and reinforce Zhu Fu on the grounds that "the military assets are not full and people eat each other". Cao Cao designated Yanzhou, which is rich in wheat, as the strategic rear area. And make the enemy's wheat producing areas the target of attack. When Cao Cao attacked Zhang Lu, he collected wheat from the people as rations, and when he attacked Yuan Shang, he "chased the leaves and collected their wheat".
The planting area of wheat in Jin Dynasty expanded. The position of wheat in grain supply has been improved, and the harvest of wheat directly affects the national economy and people's livelihood. In a few years, there was a record that "without wheat, the world is starving". The records of wheat famine in history books have also increased greatly. The affected areas include many counties in the Huanghuai River Basin, reflecting the expansion of wheat planting area at that time.
It is worth noting that at this time, the wheat yield in Jiangnan has also increased.
Before the Han Dynasty, there was no wheat planting in Jiangnan. During the Three Kingdoms period, Sun Quan of Wu hosted Fei Yi, the envoy of Shu, with cakes. This is the earliest known record of pasta in Jiangnan. But this does not mean the rise of wheat farmers in Jiangnan. Some scholars believe that the pasta wheat eaten in Ye Gong may come from Huainan. The beginning of wheat farmers in the south of the Yangtze River was set in the late Wu Dynasty and the Western Jin Dynasty. After Yongjia crossed the south, it promoted the development of wheat planting in the south of the Yangtze River.
In the Tang Dynasty, the wheat planting area expanded, and many counties recorded wheat planting. Even in some frontier minority areas, such as Guangxi and Yunnan, the earliest record of double cropping of rice and wheat appeared in Yunnan. Wheat has become an important target of national tax revenue. This is reflected in two tax laws. People in the Tang Dynasty often refer to grain crops in the order of "millet and wheat". It shows that the status of wheat is second only to that of millet.
But this mainly refers to the situation in the north. As far as the southern region is concerned, although wheat cultivation began to develop in the Six Dynasties, it really reached its climax in the Southern Song Dynasty.
During the Southern Song Dynasty, due to the migration of a large number of people from the north to the south, the original eating habits were brought to the south, the demand for wheat in society increased unprecedentedly, and the practical benefits that tenants could get from planting wheat pushed the wheat planting in the south to a climax. At that time, people used to describe it as "never reducing Huaibei". It can be seen that its grand occasion is unprecedented.
At the end of the Ming Dynasty, half of the people in northern China's rations came from wheat. The position of wheat in China's grain supply has been established.
With the development of wheat, people's concept of wheat food has also changed. For a long time, especially in the south, people have always thought that wheat is poisonous and should not be eaten more, otherwise it will get sick. However, with the development of wheat production, people's ideas have also changed, and the toxicity theory has been replaced by the benefit theory. Many herbal books since the Tang and Song Dynasties have recorded that: "Wheat is long in autumn and long in winter, spring is beautiful and summer is abundant, and the four seasons are moderate, so grains are expensive." The change of ideas is the result of the development of wheat, and it is also conducive to the further development of wheat.